This talk examines Angela Davis's important epistolary connection to the German
Democratic Republic. Between the years 1971 to 1972 an outpouring of support from socialist countries reached San Rafael and then San José, California, respectively, where Davis awaited and endured trial. This came in the form of letters, overwhelmingly written by school children in the GDR. For the youth of the GDR, Davis represented an iconic figure of social justice. But while the letters were instrumental in securing her freedom in the U.S., they at once stymied radical politics in the GDR, where Davis was actually adopted as a strategic depoliticizing myth.
(This talk is part of a co-authored project with Kathleen Smith.)

Please click "Additional Info" below for more information on this event.